Moral Minority

German-born Industrial Rock Group Kmfdm Has `No Pity For The Majority'

October 20, 1995|By SAM McDONALD Daily Press

It's hard to find humor in music that features pounding, jack-hammer guitar riffs and a raw-throated voice screaming lyrics like, "I'm a headless beast, I'm a subtle plague, I'm a cheatin' liar, I am naked terror."

But Sascha Konietzko, leader and co-founder of the German-born industrial rock group KMFDM, swears the jokes are in there.

"We're not Americans," Konietzko said, his faint German accent showing. "So TV evangelists, anti-sex crusaders, this kind of thing amuses us a lot. If I say the word `Satan,' people start fainting."

So naturally, Konietzko and his band enjoy needling who they see as the cultural oppressors. And KMFDM tosses in some light musical touches that prove the group isn't devoted solely to sonic overkill. Soulful female vocals, a horn section, and even gurgling organ flavor the otherwise punishing songs on KMFDM's new album "Nihil."

And more than previous albums by the group, a keen pop sense shines through. Konietzko, calling from a tour stop in Buffalo, N.Y., said the new album's more accessible feel is no accident.

"We're not really a band," he explained. Instead, the group has operated mostly as an in-studio collaboration. "En Esch and myself have always been the cornerstone of KMFDM's existence. And we are diametrically opposed as writers. The angsty stuff generally comes from him. The poppy, hard stuff comes from me.

"That's why this one seems more poppy in a way. It's more my style."

Konietzko and En Esch left Hamburg, Germany, for Chicago in 1990. The band is still based in the Windy City. But to write "Nihil" Konietzko headed for Seattle, where, oddly enough, there wasn't much of an industrial music scene.

Despite the more melodic moments, the bulk of "Nihil" remains rooted in the guitar-heavy sound KMFDM helped pioneer during its early years in Germany. "Around the turn of the decade - '79 or '80 - I was listening to the second wave of punk music, like GBH, and true industrial groups like Throbbing Gristle," Konietzko said.

After making music to accompany performance art projects, the group began to craft a distinctive sound. The band took its name from an acronym of the German words, "No Pity For the Majority."

KMFDM linked relentless drum machine rhythms and synth lines with grinding, heavy metal guitar parts. The mixture proved very influential. "What I always hated most about heavy metal was that the best riffs came only once and were never repeated. So the fascination, actually, was to sample a great riff, loop it, and play it over and over again," Konietzko told Guitar World magazine earlier this year.

And the new sound might have never reached American ears if not for Wax Trax! records, based in Chicago. The label released KMFDM's second album "Don't Blow Your Top" in 1988.

The band has made two videos for the first single from "Nihil" a song called "Juke Joint Jezebel." Neither is getting played on MTV right now. And that's just fine with Konietzko. "We hate MTV," he said bluntly. "MTV stinks really bad. It manipulates people into stupidity. We cannot endorse that."

And while the group wouldn't automatically reject a major label offer, nothing on such a grand scale has developed yet. KMFDM just signed a three album deal with Wax Trax!, now owned by TVT Records.

"That should end any complaints of sell-out," Konietzko said.

Still, KMFDM's popularity is growing. Sales have generally gotten stronger with each release. The group doesn't pander, but it tries to maintain a solid relationship with its fans. "It's important to not lose touch with the people who appreciate your music," Konietzko said. "It's interesting to see who actually comes."

Typically, they are people who appreciate the group's tongue-in-cheek overstatement and its aggressive, post-modern sound.